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Media and Technology Stats and Studies – February 8, 2013

The Washington Post reported the FCC has proposed the creation of super WiFi networks across the nation using broadcast spectrum. The announcement sparked intense lobbying by telecommunications companies arguing auctioning the airwaves proposed for super WiFi would raise billions for the U.S. Treasury and the extent of interference the networks would cause ought to be thoroughly investigated. Technology companies like Google and Microsoft have argued such Super WiFi networks would spur innovation and reduce the cost of wireless for the poor. In remarks presented at the FCC on Thursday, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies Media and Technology Institute VP and Director John Horrigan noted cost is the most cited reason (36%) among those who have not adopted broadband. However, wireless broadband is not panacea for closing the broadband adoption gap, Dr. Horrigan said.

The FCC released its annual performance report detailing its progress in fulfilling its strategic goals and performance commitments. The Commission’s accomplishments having the most direct impact on underrepresented Americans include reforms to the Universal Service Fund, including the launch of the Connect America Fund and Mobility Fund; overhauling Lifeline Linkup; implementation of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, and; enhancing the ability of Tribal Nations to own broadcast facilities.

The Atlantic: Less Dense Mapping Data for Less Cosmopolitan Areas May Exacerbate Real-Word Inequality

The Atlantic Monthly reported on the effect lack of mapping data has on the knowledge base used for addressing real-world inequality. For example, most Tweets during hurricane Sandy came from areas in New York least affected by the storm. The article also suggests online searches for the same information, such as “restaurant”, but searched for in different languages, lead to different results, thus “making people experience fundamentally different cities.”

Other Reports:

Nielsen reported Super Bowl XLVII broke ratings records in metered markets with a 52.9 rating/75 share overall, with the highest rating/share in Baltimore (59.6/83). Still, the game’s cumulative audience of 108.4 million viewers did not surpass last year’s record Super Bowl audience of 111.3 million. And broadcast industry consulting form SNL Kagan estimated CBS may have lost more money spending on production costs and license fees than the $240 million it generated in ad revenue. Interestingly, San Francisco did not rate among the top ten metered markets. Twitter recorded 24.1 million Super Bowl game tweets.